Chapter 35

The many faces of Kyoko. Kuon chuckled inwardly in amazement when he saw the end result of her character creation and his mother's assistance. Fiery red, long, curly hair, and emerald green contact lenses. With her fair skin, she pulled it off as if she'd been born that way. She truly looked like the little Irish Noble that she would be portraying for the film.

She was excited over the princess-like wardrobe she would be garbed in. The detailed drawings had been emailed to her for approval, much to her surprise. A stunningly beautiful Rococo/Baroque Style, royal blue wedding gown for the wedding scene; another in similar style, but in layers of green and embroidered white linen with little rosebuds, for her scenes of the day before the wedding; her lingerie, the diaphanous nightgown/chemise that would be worn beneath everything, her corsets, and other miscellaneous clothing items that would be weighing her down during filming. She promised Kuon that she would definitely get pictures once everything was finalized and put together.

Then the reality hit him. Why would she actually need lingerie that would be seen during filming? Then came the question. "Kyoko? Do you have love scenes?"

"You already know that I do, Corn. Remember? You already read the script." She reminded him cheerily. She wasn't really worried about it anymore since Kuon hadn't made a fuss over it when she gave him the script to read. That and the little talk from Juli telling her that it wasn't real, so she shouldn't worry too much about Kuon taking it to heart. Yes... The Actor's Rule Of The Heart thing.

He nodded absently. "Ah, I remember now." He commented, making a mental note to control his irritation, and make an appearance to discourage any thoughts of attempts to romance her off camera as Cedric was widely known to do. He didn't even want to know when she would be filming those particular scenes, he wasn't sure he would be able to make it through the day without committing murder. The thoughts to make sure he was out of town or doing something with his dad during those days were very prominent in his mind.

"I have to thank you for encouraging her to take that part in BoxR. It really helped more than she knows." Ushio commented as he sipped his drink.

Kuu chuckled. "Ah well, I may not be too good with my kid listening to me, but she seemed to take it to heart. I'm glad. It would have been wasted talent if she would have given up so soon."

Ushio nodded in agreement, then sighed. "I really wish that I could have been there for her when she needed me."

Kuu patted him on the back. He and Ushio had talked a lot, and gotten to know each other quite well, quite quickly these past few days. They were a lot alike. "We both made mistakes, but we're trying to fix them now. I think we just need to be there for them now when they need us. Whether they ask for our help or not."

"I suppose you're right. It's a shame I wasn't there when she was little. I really would have enjoyed watching her grow." Ushio lamented, taking another drink of his whiskey.

Kuu chuckled wryly. "Well… I wasn't exactly there for Kuon either." Kuu smirked. "We just need to make sure we're there when they give us grandbabies.

Ushio groaned. "That's the only choice we have left, isn't it?"

Kuu leaned back in his seat. "You know it."

"Not until she's at least 18, Kuu." Ushio growled.

"18 for what?" Juli asked as she entered the room, returning from her latest 'get to know you better' shopping trip with Kyoko. The girl was becoming more adept at shopping and her sense of style was natural. She'd even had some really good ideas that Juli hadn't thought of.

"Grandbabies..." Kuu chimed.

"A wedding..." Ushio told her with emphasis. There was no way there were going to get babies before the wedding. He didn't want his daughter in the same circumstances as her mother had been. Not that he believed that Kuon would do something like that, but what if she got pregnant beforehand and something happened that would ruin their relationship or separate them? Where would she be, left with a child and no support from the father? A situation like that for his own flesh and blood was a big no.

"Well, we do have three months until her birthday." Juli chirped slyly. "Wanna see the dress I have in mind?" Her smile matched her voice now.

Ushio glanced up at the woman that would soon be a relative. "Can a wedding be planned in that amount of time?"

Juli smirked. "You boys just take care of the food, and photography, I'll have Lory secure the venue, me and her friends will take care of the rest." Now, to convince Ms. Kotonami and Ms. Amamiya to help with this. Yes, that would be a miraculous fête, getting Kanae to help with a wedding. Wouldn't something like that be like trying to get a lioness to let go of injured prey?

He was confused by the reaction of his aunt a few days ago. He wasn't sure if it was because he'd interrupted the conversation she was holding with his co-star or if it was something else. He really didn't speak to his own mother much since the last time he'd seen Kuon so many years ago, so he didn't know if they were fighting or not. He wondered if she blamed him for Kuon leaving or if she thought he was so much of a womanizer, she didn't want him anywhere near Kyoko. If that was the case, what kind of relationship did they have? Perhaps family through Uncle Kuu? He smirked at that thought. It would make it that much easier to have access to her. He would see her at the family gathering in a few weeks.

The torment he put his cousin through never crossed his mind. There were many things said and done when Cedric wasn't himself due to chemical interference. He'd only been out of rehab during this past year and there were many things that he honestly didn't remember ever doing, not even the car accident that caused Kuon to leave. The only thing he remembered from that night, was running from Kuon after having his ass handed to him. He didn't hear the screech of the tires or the wretched screams from Tina. He'd already made it deep into the club by that time and the only thing filling his ears that night had been loud music.

Eltra Duris sat down at his desk, in his study, in front of the young man that he had taken care of since Kuon had left.

"Something you wanted to see me for Pops?" Cedric asked a little curiously.

Eltra sighed out. "Do you know why Kuon left?"

Cedric furrowed his brow. Why is he bringing this up now? Of course he didn't know why his cousin left. He shook his head and leaned back into the overstuffed armchair.

Eltra tossed a file folder filled with old news clippings, police reports, and photos. "Take a look." He told him sternly. There was no way he would think that the boy didn't remember that night unless he was as high as a kite or too drunk to function. Which in fact, he had been...both.

The more he read, the more he felt the crushing guilt that he didn't feel that night. Now he knew where his strange dreams and nightmares came from. The question of why his family had kept something like this from him, when he asked about Kuon, was now answered. Now he knew why Kuon left, why certain members of his little clique disappeared for several months, and why even a few of them stopped talking to him altogether. He hadn't felt the need for a drink for six months as much as he felt it at that moment. Oh my… He had so much to atone for, more than he'd ever realized, and he only had a brief few weeks to mentally prepare for it.

Cedric looked up at his grandfather. "I…really didn't know." He breathed out in guilt.

"It's up to him to forgive you, not me. You and your mother pushed him out of this family. Behave yourself at the reunion." Eltra warned. "I will not allow what you and your mother have done in the past to happen again. If you do anything to offend him or his fiancée, you will need to find another profession. I'll not tolerate this type of behavior within my family." He finished.

Fiancée? Cedric thought with curiosity and a little bit of shock. The incident of running into Juli while trying to get Kyouko's attention came to mind. Could she be… His eyes went wide. From what he just read, from all of his interactions with Kuon when they were younger, he finally understood why his co-star was such a Grade-A ice queen, with this possibility. He winced a little. Kuon beat him pretty badly when they were kids, he was pretty sure he didn't want him dishing out the same now.